January 5 Meeting and Reminders

The fourth person ever to reach both Poles, Will Steger is known by many titles—educator, activist, photographer, and explorer. This former explorer-in-residence for National Geographic is a pioneer in his field. In 1986 he made the first confirmed unsupported journey to the North Pole.  Two years later he guided the longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history, a 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland. In 1995, he led a 1,200-mile expedition between Russia and Ellesmere Island, Canada, via dogsleds and canoe sleds with a team of five educators and scientists. This sweeping project earned Steger the prestigious National Geographic John Oliver La Gorce Medal. Steger joins Roald Amundsen, Amelia Earhart, Admiral Robert Peary, and Jacques-Yves Cousteau in this honor. In 2004, Steger led a five-month journey through the Northwest Territories in Canada.

Having testified before the U.S. Congress on polar and environmental issues, Steger has become a recognized authority on polar environmental concerns.  His educational accomplishments include founding the Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline and the World School for Adventure Learning at St. Thomas. In 2006 he established the Will Steger Foundation to educate and empower people to engage in solutions to climate change. In 2014, he launched the Steger Wilderness Center, his final phase of his larger mission to keep the planet sustainable for future generations.